Since its launch in 2019, we have been asking how we can improve Understanding Houston — not only the site, but also the overall initiative: How can the site be easier to navigate? How can the site help you quickly find what you are looking for? How can our events be more engaging or useful? What else do you want to see from Understanding Houston?
In search of answers, we conducted three Data Dives, two Visioning Labs, dozens of post-event evaluations, hundreds of conversations, and a biennial survey.
Through this discovery, we heard that the site was not intuitive to navigate; few people were aware of our blog page; the site was not fully accessible; and users wanted more background and context with which to interpret the data but also fewer indicators. (We also heard that Understanding Houston presents data in compelling, interactive visuals; provides analysis in clear, accessible language, and is aesthetically pleasing.)
Throughout 2023 we have been working with our incredible partner, Baal & Spots, to build and enhance UnderstandingHouston.org, and we are thrilled to finally reveal the refreshed website!
Here are five ways Understanding Houston has improved, informed by your feedback and suggestions.
1. Popups and Navigation
Each time you open Understanding Houston in a new browser, little popups will take you on a quick tour of the homepage (if you do not want to see them again, select the appropriate box). The popups will guide you through the homepage, the new navigation, the new “Explore the Data” button, the blog page, and more.
Additionally, the navigation headers have been renamed and reordered for clarity. The “Explore the Data” button now appears first. We have also made it easier to learn who we are, what we do, and how to get involved by registering for events or subscribing to the newsletter. Finally, the blog page is now called “Articles & Reports,” the search bar is more prominent, and it is easier to find information on upcoming and past events, including presentations and photos through drop-down menus.
2. Explore the Data
We are proud to host a new Explore the Data page that presents all topics and subtopics in one place for convenience. From this page, simply click on the cover photo or topic name to visit one of the nine topic-level pages and read the summary report. Users can also view all subtopics to directly find what you are looking for or to get a sense of how the data are organized. In this update, we refined the 300+ indicators to about 200 based on feedback and use and combined and refined subtopic pages — the result of which can be seen in this one high-level page.
3. Enhanced Blog
The blog page formerly known as “Community Voices” has been renamed “Articles & Reports.” The articles can be filtered by one of the nine topics by selecting the issue in the drop-down menu. With over 80 articles to choose from, we know there is a lot to explore. To help focus, the top five most read articles will appear in a carousel format, with all articles in reverse chronological order below, denoted by the “Most Recent” header. Scroll down the page to load more articles or use the search tool in the upper right corner to find one you are looking for.
4. Improved Accessibility
We are proud to share that Understanding Houston is more accessible now. We have tweaked our color combinations and fonts to ensure that all users can fully enjoy and utilize the website. Screen readers can read each page’s content, including charts, and we are working to complete adding alt text to all relevant images.
5. More background, context and analysis
You asked for more historical background, situational context, and deeper analysis from Understanding Houston, and we aimed to deliver! Throughout the site you will find deeper dives and more holistic analysis of outcomes across indicator, and we disaggregated more data by race/ethnicity, gender, and income where possible. For example, we took a deep dive into the racial characteristics of poverty, analyzed housing cost trends before and after the pandemic, dissected disparate outcomes in maternal and child health, and more.
Approaching our Fifth Anniversary
We have made significant updates to the website, but many parts of the site you love have not changed. You have always been able to interact with the charts on the website and download them for use. Users can still change views by filtering the data in the legend or selecting different buttons or drop-downs in the top right corners. And, you can still jump to the indicator of interest by selecting it under “The Data” header on the left of each subtopic page.
As we move toward our fifth anniversary in November 2024, we will continue to improve, following your suggestions and input. Understanding Houston’s second biennial Impact Survey is now live! We encourage all users and visitors to complete the 10-minute survey for a chance to win a $1,000 donation to your favorite local nonprofit. We will continue to update the site with the most recent data and to convey the initiative’s next phase of work.
Once again, we extend our deepest gratitude to and appreciation for Baal & Spots who has been an incredibly talented and supportive partner to us since Understanding Houston’s inception.
Happy Exploring!